Filming begins on Fighting Season

Production has begun on the new Foxtel drama Fighting Season, a complex, character-driven drama about Australian soldiers returning from Afghanistan, begins filming this week in Sydney with a superb ensemble cast.

Jay Ryan (Beauty and the Beast, Top of the Lake,) Ewen Leslie (Top of the Lake, The Daughter), and Kate Mulvany (Secret City, The Great Gatsby), headline a cast that also includes new and diverse talent including George Pullar (A Place to call Home S5), Marco Alosio, Julian Maroun, Paul De Gelder, Sarah Armanious and Sabryna Walters. Lucy Bell, Lex Marinos, David Roberts, Camilla Ah Kin, Ching Po and Jay Lagaiai will play supporting roles.

The series will be helmed by the award-winning Director Kate Woods (Looking for Alibrandi), who returns to Australia after a decade in the US working on shows such as Law and Order SVU, Nashville and Suits. Also directing is the dynamic Ben Lucas (Wasted on the Young).

Fighting Season, from production company Goalpost Pictures (Cleverman,The Sapphires) and writer Blake Ayshford (Barracuda, Devil’s Playground) is the story about the invisible men and women who fight for our country, what they bring home and what of themselves they leave behind, and the secrets that must remain hidden.

The six-part event drama is a compelling mystery regarding a possible cover-up where the lines between killer and family man, between hero and victim, between truth and imagination, are constantly shifting.

Foxtel Head of Drama Penny Win said: “Fighting Season has all the elements of a superb drama event, with exquisite scripts and a talented cast, along with directors Kate Woods and Ben Lucas, Foxtel is looking forward to Goalpost delivering an amazing drama.”

Goalpost Pictures’ Kylie du Fresne said: “The series is based on extensive research including interviews with a number of experienced former soldiers who have generously shared their stories about their time in Afghanistan and the realities of coming home and reintegrating into society.”

Fighting Season has development and production investment from Screen Australia and Screen NSW, with Broken Hill to be one of the locations. Producers are Kylie du Fresne, Elisa Argenzio and Blake Ayshford. Executive Producers are Penny Win, Rosemary Blight and Ben Grant.

Sky Vision, the distribution and production arm of Sky, has signed an exclusive output distribution deal with Australian subscription broadcaster Foxtel. Worldwide distribution for Fighting Season, excluding Australia and New Zealand, is being handled by Sky Vision